Iago's Manipulation In 'Acts IV And V Of Othello'

     Iago told Othello that he would discuss Desdemona with Cassio, and that he would talk about the affair. Iago does not do this, and instead he talks about Bianca with Cassio, and Cassio laughs at things Iago says. Othello sees Cassio laughing and just assumes he is laughing at Desdemona, which in return upsets him very much. Iago used several tactics to set up Othello for deception in this case.

There are many reasons of why Iago hates othello so much, some speculate it’s because he was passed over for the promotion or because he believes Othello had sex with his wife Emilia. But the true reason of why Iago does this is unknown he may just be simply because he loves to be in control and twists everyone lives to his liking. Without any proof or evidence Iago repeatedly tells Othello of the affair between his wife and Cassio. He states In sleep I Heard him say "Sweet Desdemona, Let us be wary, let us hide our loves." And then, sir, would he gripe and wring my hand, Cry "O sweet creature!" and then kiss me hard, As if he plucked up kisses by the roots, (.......). Iago first sets the visions of the affair into Othello’s head. Othello already started to believe Iago because he is a “moor(black) and believes he is not handsome enough for Desdemona while Cassio is. Eventually, Iago tells othello about Cassio having the handkerchief that he gave his wife, “I know not that; but such a handkerchief I am sure It was your wife’s did I to-day see Cassio wipe his beard with.” (3.3.437-439) The only reason why Cassio has the handkerchief is because Iago obtained it and put it in his room, yet Cassio has no idea who it belongs to. Instead of Othello talking to Cassio, he believes Iago and this was more than enough evidence for Othello. Othello has believed everything Iago has said and believes he has seen it all and vows to kill Cassio and Desdemona, Yet she must die, else she'll betray more men. Put out the light, and then put out the light, If I quench thee, thou flaming minister, I can again thy former light restore.” (5.2.3-9). Iago uses Othello’s insecurities and trust to put a false affair of his wife and Cassio into his head. Othello has no doubt and kills Desdemona and when he realizes that Iago tricked him he takes his own

Othello trusts Iago and now Iago is trying to take his wife from him for someone else. Furthermore, “He takes her by the palm...sir in.” (pg. 71). Iago watches Cassio and Emilia because he thinks they had an affair he watches them carefully so he can figure out how to convince Othello that Desdemona and Cassio are having an affair. Another example involves the plan to help Othello kill Desdemona. “Do it not with poison. Strangle her in her bed, even the bed she hath contaminated” (pg. 185). Othello believes that Iago is most honest, thus he believed killing his wife Desdemona was the right thing to do. Iago brainwashed Othello into believing the wrong thing was the right thing. The characterization of Iago is created by the use of dramatic irony. The audience knew how devious Iago is, but the characters fell for his mischievous acts.

Othello is an easy target in this drama, because Iago already knows that he is a very insecure person. With that stated, it will be easy for Iago to use Othello’s jealousy to trick him into thinking that Desdemona is an unfaithful wife. Iago will manipulate the way Othello sees things in order to convince him that what he sees is innocent acts between Desdemona and Casillo. Iago’s starts to plant the idea in Othello’s head of an affair after Othello sees Casillo rush leaving Desdemona in a manner that looked as though he is guilty (1223). Alone with Othello, Iago begins to make Othello feel threatened by Casillo and Desdemona’s apparent relationship by bringing up the fact that Casillo served as Desdemona’s and Othello’s go-between during the time of their courtship. The conversation ends with Iago asking Othello to watch carefully of Desdemona and Casillo, and Iago exits giving Othello time to question the accusation of Iago (1225-1228).

By the middle of the play Othello’s mood and demeanor seem to shift from being peaceful and patient to very anxious, paranoid, and gullible. For example when Othello is talking to Iago and Iago suggests that maybe his wife is not being faithful to him, it becomes Othello’s obsession to get down to the bottom of it and catch her. “I have been talking with your suitor here, a man that languishes in your displeasure / Who is’t you mean / Why, your lieutenant, Cassio. Good my lord” (III.iii.41-43). In this dialog between Othello and Iago, with just two sentences Iago causes Othello to lose trust in his wife and believe she is being unfaithful to him which grows stronger and stronger each scene of the play. Because Iago is extremely cunning and manipulative, he is able to control almost anyone he chooses and he is in control of Othello’s emotions because he knows the things Othello fears. Iago is pretending to be Othello’s friend but secretively is going behind his back and bringing him down. Iago convinces Othello that Cassio is having an affair with Desdemona. “I humbly do beseech

Iago is very notorious for his villainous acts throughout the play “Othello”, by William Shakespeare. Iago’s motives drive him to manipulate and deceive other characters so his “monstrous” (I, iii, 395) plot would succeed. Iago manages to con Roderigo to take his money. Iago also tries to ruin Othello and Desdemona’s relationship by using Cassio as a bait. In this passage, Iago explains how he will manipulate Rodrigo, Cassio and, most importantly, Othello to achieve his goals.

The event of Othello’s elopement is the turning point for Iago’s obsession and plot to destroy his life by sabotaging his relationships with Desdemona and his closest friends. Othello’s tragic flaw of trusting the wrong people leads him to his demise. Iago’s first plan of action brings Brabantio, Desdemona’s father, into play. He speaks of how “The Moor”, Othello, is deflowering his daughter’s purity. “Even now, now, very now, an old black ram / Is tupping your white ewe” (1.1.88-89) (Othello.) Iago’s obsession goes so far as to bring his own wife into his plot without her knowledge. Iago asks Emilia to steal Desdemona’s handkerchief as “evidence” of her infidelity. “My wayward husband hath a hundred times / Woo’d me to steal it; but she so loves the token....I’ll have the work ta’en out, And give’t Iago: what he will do with it Heaven knows, not I; I nothing but to please his fantasy.” (3.3.292-299) (Othello.) A man who prided himself on being trustworthy was so blinded with jealousy and hatred that he would sabotage his own wife to take down Othello’s life.

Othello’s love for Desdemona was so deep he could not bear the thought of another being with her; “If she be false, O! Then heaven mocks itself. I’ll not believe’t.” Iago uses the characters of Cassio and the obsessive Roderigo as his weapons in his cunning plan. Iago drives the idea into Othello’s mind that Desdemona has been unfaithful, inciting him into a state of jealousy. “Excellent wretch! Perdition catch my soul, but I do love thee; and when I love thee not, chaos is come again.” Othello growing insecurities about his wife’s faithfulness only adds to his psychological suffering which in turn acts as a catalyst towards the suffering of other characters involved in the play.Iago tells these lies with the intention of driving Othello insane as well as establish his dominance and influence the situations of those characters close to Othello. Evidence of this comes in one of Iago’s soliloquies from act two, scene one; “That Cassio loves her, I do well Believe’t: That she loves him, ‘tis apt and of great credit.” This section shows that he is trying to convince himself that his own manipulative lies are true and is trying to reassure his motives by justifying his own actions. By convincing Othello

Othello, not knowing that Cassio was in fact speaking with Desdemona in hopes of being reinstated as Lieutenant, mistakenly believes that the two are having an affair and that Desdemona has lost her chastity. Iago skillfully capitalizes on the situation by developing his attack further: "She did deceive her father, marrying you" (3.3.220). Othello begins to see Iago's reasoning: if she could deceive her father, she could just as easily deceive her new husband. Once Othello's bliss has been decimated, Iago concentrates on weakening Othello's perception of himself; Iago very carefully and very tactfully chooses words and metaphors that subconsciously pit Othello against the Venetians. Othello begins to perceive himself as an outsider in his own country, "a malignant and turbaned Turk" (5.2.365). A fruitful marriage with a Venetian woman becomes out of the question in Othello's mind. Iago's successful manipulation takes a self-confidant man and reduces him to one at ends with himself and with the woman he loved.

In order for the pity in Othello’s relationship to appear more realistic, Iago must also manipulate "proof" as a deception that attacks not only Othello's idealistic faith in love and language, but also on Othello's belief in general. The manipulation of “proof” is first seen when Iago organizes a set-up, in which Othello overhears Iago and Cassio having a conversation about Bianca. Iago maneuvers the conversation, using a strong tactic of double-entendre, to make it seem as if they were having a conversation about Desdemona. Unaware of the misinterpretable context, Cassio says she "hangs and lolls and weeps upon me,” which Othello accepts harshly (Othello 4.1.157). Moreover, after Othello tells Desdemona that Cassio is allegedly dead, she

Iago quickly tried to come up with false evidence to apparently, to prove to Othello that this is indeed, reality, “I know not that; but suck a handkerchief – I am sure it was your wife’s – See Cassio wipe his beard with.”(3.3.496). Iago was supposedly ‘thickening his proofs’, and he insisted that Cassio has Desdemona’s handkerchief. Notice how Iago is exaggerating false allegations, only to make Othello think that Desdemona is unfaithful. It becomes fairly manageable for Iago to sell his tale to Othello, as he takes advantage of Othello’s trust, and reports what he ‘apparently witnessed’. After Iago successfully manipulates Othello, to consider his wife as a false-hearted woman, he doesn’t even think to reflect upon his sinful deeds, revealing his cold-hearted soul to the audience. By now, the viewers can only look down upon Iago with disgust, as he is also breaking a loving relationship between an honest man and his innocent wife. Why would Iago want to harm Desdemona when he clearly hates the Moor, and only the Moor? What was Iago’s purpose in slandering a beautiful, innocent woman? Well, Iago’s villainous schemes continue to leave the audience in disbelief. Then, Iago also vividly describes to Othello, about how Cassio is yearning for Desdemona, “There are a kind of men so loose of soul that in their sleeps will mutter their affairs. One of this kind is Cassio. In sleep I heard

While filling Othello’s ears with lies and hatred, Iago says that “I know not that: but such a handkerchief I am sure it was your wife’s- did I today see Cassio wipe his beard with” (Shakespeare, 67). Iago is poisoning Othello’s ears by telling him about the ocular proof that Othello was asking for all along. Furthermore, Iago uses another excellent technique to manipulate Othello by making remember the past events. Iago says to Othello that, “she did deceive her father, marrying you, and when she seemed to shake, and fear your looks, she loved them most” (Shakespeare, 59). Iago is explaining to Othello that if Desdemona can deceive her father by marrying Othello, she can deceive him too. Iago also tells Othello that Desdemona fell for his looks because he is an outsider. Iago is excellent at manipulating the situation and filling others’ ears with lies, which makes his plan successful without anyone suspecting him.

In the play Othello by Shakespeare the main character by Othello was manipulated by Iago. The character in this play are Othello, Desdemona, Cassio, Roderigo, Emilia, Iago Brabantio and Bianca. Iago was the evil in the one who goes against everyone and manipulated them. Iago’s first target was Othello because Othello did not promote him as a lieutenant but he promote Cassio. Cassio the lieutenant and Roderigo is the stupid fool because he always listen to Iago.

He gets Cassio to talk to Othello’s wife, Desdemona, to ask for his position back and he begins to point out small things like them whispering. When Cassio exits the scene when Othello approaches, Iago does not hesitate to make his move and mentions it. Asking of Iago’s suspicions, Iago says, “Good my lord, pardon me, Though I am bound to every act of duty I am not bound to that all slaves are free to Utter my thoughts” (138-140). This places Othello in the position of being alarmed because what could be so horrible that this “honest” man would want to keep secret from him. Eventually, Iago comes out with his fake suspicions and Othello somewhat believes it but wants some kind of evidence. Fortunately, Iago’s wife, Emilia gets a hold of Desdemona’s handkerchief and gives it to him. He puts more of his plan into action saying, “in Cassio’s lodging [I] lose this napkin. And let him find it. Trifles light as air Are to the jealous confirmations strong As proofs of holy writ. (331-334). This is enough to convince Othello of Desdemona’s affair with Cassio, enraging him to want to murder the two. Othello decides he will kill his wife, and asks Iago to do the same to

Iago create this affair to mess and complicate Othello's feelings towards his wife while also getting his own share of personal accomplishment. he allows Othello to murder his wife and Cassio for Iago's own personal agenda. this allows Othello to take care of his hatred for Cassio. there's no evidence of this affair until Iago goes out of his way to falsify evidence such as the handkerchief scene with Desdemona. Iago in face believes the affair is real because of how well thought out he made his plan and used twisted phrases “” to convince Othello himself. Iago own personal goal is to create extreme chaos in this community. his motives are just excuses he makes to justify all his wrong